An international bestseller and the basis for the hugely successful film, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of the defining works of the 1960s. In this classic novel, Ken Kesey’s hero is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a boisterous, brawling, fun-loving rebel who swaggers into the world of a mental hospital and takes over. A lusty, life-affirming fighter, McMurphy rallies the other patients around him by challenging the dictatorship of Nurse Ratched. He promotes gambling in the ward, smuggles in wine and women, and openly defies the rules at every turn. But this defiance, which starts as a sport, soon develops into a grim struggle, an all-out war between two relentless opponents: Nurse Ratched, backed by the full power of authority, and McMurphy, who has only his own indomitable will. What happens when Nurse Ratched uses her ultimate weapon against McMurphy provides the story’s shocking climax. “BRILLIANT!”—Time “A SMASHING ACHIEVEMENT...A TRULY ORIGINAL NOVEL!”—Mark Schorer “Mr. Kesey has created a world that is convincing, alive and glowing within its own boundaries...His is a large, robust talent, and he has written a large, robust book.”—Saturday Review

Continues the adventures of reluctant savior Arlen Bales, who wonders at the identity of a spear-wielding figure that emerges from the desert and leads a vast army intent on a holy war against the demons that have forced humankind to seek the refuge of powerful spells.

The radiant, posthumous second novel by the visionary author of Invisible Man, featuring an introduction and a new postscript by Ralph Ellison's literary executor, John F. Callahan, and a preface by National Book Award-winning author Charles Johnson “Ralph Ellison’s generosity, humor and nimble language are, of course, on display in Juneteenth, but it is his vigorous intellect that rules the novel. . . . A majestic narrative concept.”—Toni Morrison In Washington, D.C., in the 1950s, Adam Sunraider, a race-baiting senator from New England, is mortally wounded by an assassin’s bullet while making a speech on the Senate floor. To the shock of all who think they know him, Sunraider calls out from his deathbed for Alonzo Hickman, an old black minister, to be brought to his side. The reverend is summoned; the two are left alone. “Tell me what happened while there’s still time,” demands the dying Sunraider. Out of their conversation, and the inner rhythms of memories whose weight has been borne in silence for many long years, a story emerges. Senator Sunraider, once known as Bliss, was raised by Reverend Hickman in a black community steeped in religion and music (not unlike Ralph Ellison’s own childhood home) and was brought up to be a preaching prodigy in a joyful black Baptist ministry that traveled throughout the South and the Southwest. Together one last time, the two men retrace the course of their shared life in an “anguished attempt,” Ellison once put it, “to arrive at the true shape and substance of a sundered past and its meaning.” In the end, the two men confront their most painful memories, memories that hold the key to understanding the mysteries of kinship and race that bind them, and to the senator’s confronting how deeply estranged he had become from his true identity. In Juneteenth, Ralph Ellison evokes the rhythms of jazz and gospel and ordinary speech to tell a powerful tale of a prodigal son in the twentieth century. At the time of his death in 1994, Ellison was still expanding his novel in other directions, envisioning a grand, perhaps multivolume, story cycle. Always, in his mind, the character Hickman and the story of Sunraider’s life from birth to death were the dramatic heart of the narrative. And so, with the aid of Ellison’s widow, Fanny, his literary executor, John Callahan, has edited this magnificent novel at the center of Ralph Ellison’s forty-year work in progress—its author’s abiding testament to the country he so loved and to its many unfinished tasks.

During his fraudulent stay at a mental institution, a charming rogue invokes the head nurse's antagonism by inciting revolution among the inmates

Presents critical essays on Ken Kesey's 'One flew over the cuckoo's nest' and includes a chronology, a bibliography, and an introduction by critic Harold Bloom.

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0 (A), Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald (Institute for Anglistics/American Studies), language: English, abstract: The novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey is without a doubt an outstanding example of American Literature. So it was obviously necessary to make a movie out of the manuscript. Unfortunately, there are some harsh differences between movie and book, which in some cases change the original plot in a way that influences the viewer. Most of the differences come out of the different narrative perspective of the film because the story is just to ld objectively, while the book tells it from a patient’s point of view. But there are inexactnesses that change the viewer’s perspective towards the characters. The only fact “saving” the movie is the choice of incredible actors. Jack Nicholson (McMurphy), Louise Fletcher (Ms. Ratched), William Redfield (Harding), Will Sampson (Chief Bromden) and Brad Dourif (Billy Bibbit) are only the main examples for the unbelievable performance shown in this movie by all actors. Although most of their characters are illustrated differently in the book, they all did a great job. Since my project is to compare the narrative perspective of the book to that of the film my sources were the book1 and the DVD.2 Additionally I have used several essays collected in “A casebook on Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” edited by George J. Searles3. This book was a very valuable source for my work because the essays content lots of information, interpretations, and views of various authors on many different themes. 1 Ken Kesey: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Signet Books, 1995. 2 Einer flog über das Kuckucksnest. Warner Bros. Home Videos, 2003. 3 George J. Searles: A casebook on Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. University of New Mexico Press, first edition, Albuquerque, 1992.

Great literary works resonate with readers not only because of well-developed characters and plots, but also because they often reflect important social themes. The Social Issues in Literature series brings together the disciplines of sociology and literature in a unique format designed to support cross-curricular studies. Each volume explores a work of literature through the lens of the major social issue reflected in it, and features carefully-selected content representing a variety of perspectives. All volumes in the series contain biographical and critical information about the author; secondary excerpts offering both historical and contemporary views of the highlighted social issue; a timeline of the author's life a For Further Reading section of other works on the issue; and a detailed subject index. Book jacket.

Moving into a mysterious old house, Miranda finds that she can see the horrifying things that happened there in the past; but can she do anything now to change history?

A miscellanea mostly by Kesey, some by his friends.